Phillipe Petit – MAN ON WIRE

In 1974 a young Frenchman, Phillipe Petit, froze the streets of New York City as he successfully crossed a 3/4-inch cable that stretched between the World Trade Centre Towers – a quarter of a mile above his captivated audience of thousands on the streets below.  Petit crossed the wire eight times, lay down on the wire, jumped up and down (with his feet leaving the wire entirely) and spent 45 minutes taunting police before finally acceding their requests that he stop.

Upon being arrested, NYPD agents handcuffed him behind his back and roughly pushed him down a flight of stairs, a moment he later described as “the most dangerous part of the stunt”.

An unique man, an incredible stunt (six years in the planning) and a very beautiful movie.

See Phillipe’s Wikipedia page here.

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Erik Mongrain – LIVE WITH JOOLS HOLLAND

In 2009 Jools Holland featured a relatively unknown Canadian musician called Erik Mongrain – a self-taught “guitar tapper” who ranks as one of the world’s finest … hear the guitar like never before.

See Erik’s Wikipedia page here.

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Olga Korbut – OLYMPICS PERFORMANCE 1972

In 1972 at the Munich Olympics a young 17-year old Russian named Olga Korbut took to the world stage and performed an historic routine that changed the face of the uneven bars forever.  The sound is less than ideal, but the flawnessness of her performance is quite beyond compare.

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Kim Peek – THE REAL RAIN MAN

As inspiration behind the 1988 Hollywood movie “Rain Man” starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise – Kim Peek (1951-2009) was a human being with a mind unique to human history.  His ability to recall facts, music, dates, and encyclopaedic information about anything he’s ever read ranks him today – three years after his death – as one of the most astonishing human beings of all time.

See his Wikipedia page here, a further YouTube video here, and a CNN interview here.

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DMC – WHY DO WE BELIEVE?

In January of 2012 I travelled once again to India to make a short film, following a particularly provocative news story that appeared in British newspapers.  Please find the finished film above.

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Nina Conti – VENTRILOQUISM

Had the very greatest pleasure of working alongside the divine Nina Conti at a private engagement here in London a few weeks ago – she is too brilliant, too endearing, and too wonderful for words.  Her baby son is also called Drummond; double points.

See more of Nina’s videos on YouTube here.

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Derren Brown – JONATHAN ROSS 2002

Starting on television a little over 10 years ago, Derren Brown has since come to define an era of magic in Britain.  His unique interpretation of mentalism (the world of mind-reading and psychological-related magic) has set him aside and above all others – and continues to do so to this day.  The above video is an interview from his early days on television, with Jonathan Ross.

See Derren’s main website here, and his Twitter feed here.

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David Blaine – TED TALK

In 2010 the unqiue David Blaine gave a TED lecture, detailing his training and incredible work that lead to him breaking the world record for holding his breath – over 17 minutes.  Bear in mind that is just three minutes shorter than it takes to watch the entire video.

See David’s official website here, and his Twitter feed here.

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Hans Klok – 10 ILLUSIONS IN 5 MINUTES

Dutch magician Hans Klok has enjoyed a lifetime’s success in his art right around the globe, and for the 2006 football World Cup in Germany he made the trophy itself appear live on television – aired to over 500 million people.

See Hans’ official website here.

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Cyril Takayama – CIGARETTE MANIPULATION

Cyril Takayama is internationally one of the foremost names in magic today, and this short demonstration of his abilities – making use of just one lit cigarette – gives ample reason why.

See Cyril’s official website here, and many more of his videos on YouTube here.

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